Mayor & Common Council Meetings

CITY OF WESTMINSTER, MARYLAND MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 10, 2014 QUORUM A meeting of the Mayor and Common Council was held in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 1838 Emerald Hill Lane, Westminster, Maryland on the evening of March 10, 2014, at 7:00 P.M. Mayor Utz; Council President Wack; Council Members Albert, Chiavacci, Frazier and Whitson; City Administrator and Acting City Clerk Wolf, Chief of Police Spaulding, Director of Recreation and Parks Gruber, Director of Public Works Glass, Director of Community Planning and Development Horn, and City Attorney Levan were present. City Treasurer Palmer was excused from attending the meeting. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Utz presented Wayne Reifsnider with a proclamation and gift for his 35 Years of Service with the City of Westminster. MINUTES Upon motion of Mr. Chiavacci, seconded by Mr. Frazier and unanimously passed, the minutes of the Council meeting of February 24, 2014, were approved unanimously. CONSENT CALENDAR Upon motion of Mr. Frazier and seconded by Mr. Chiavacci, the Consent Calendar, consisting of approval of Minority Business Plan, Section 3 Plan, and Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Plan, was approved unanimously. REPORT FROM THE MAYOR Mayor Utz reported that he visited Cranberry Station Elementary School to read in celebration of 110th Birthday celebration of Dr. Seuss. He also reported that on February 27 he went to Annapolis to testify on the Ethics Bill. REPORTS FROM STANDING COMMITTEE Mr. Frazier reported that he attended an MML Charter meeting with Ms. Wolf. He shared that there will be a $16M increase for transportation in the upcoming budget and a $200,000 increase for Police Protection. Mr. Frazier also shared that the General Assembly/ State Legislators will be withdrawing $100M from the State pension fund and reminded Council that when this occurred previously, it was not restored as promised. He commented that the pension fund is what is bankrupting municipalities across the nation. Governor O’Malley’s budget request includes an increase of 3.8% over last year’s budget. President Wack reported that the Finance Committee has begun planning meetings about the FY2015 budget. He noted he would be in touch with individual Council members but there is nothing significant to report at this time. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS Ms. Wolf informed the Mayor and Common Council that the City would like to have brass plaques put on buildings that have received Façade Program funding in celebration of the City’s 250th Celebration. Resolution 14-02, Approval of Application for Receiving CDBG Funds, is for a technical assistance grant to provide fifty (50) percent of the cost of the plaques. Mr. Frazier questioned the cost of the brass plaques. Ms. Wolf replied that the City will request for FY2015 budget for the 250th Anniversary and if the City does not receive the grant the City will not proceed with the placement of the brass plaques. She added that the cost will also depend on the number of buildings that will need the plaques. Upon motion of Mr. Chiavacci, seconded by Ms. Albert, Resolution 14-02 was introduced. Upon motion of Ms. Albert, seconded by Mr. Chiavacci, Resolution 14-02 Approval of Application for Receiving CDBG Funds was approved unanimously. Ms. Wolf then informed Mayor and Common Council that Resolution 14-03, Supporting MHCD Neighborhood Business Works, is to provide low interest loans to neighborhood businesses. She shared that Kohn Design and Printing, Inc. has received an $85,000 loan to do interior renovations and will be applying for Façade program funds from the City for exterior renovations. Ms. Wolf explained that the resolution is needed to show that the City supports the work that will be done. Mr. Whitson questioned if this will cost the City anything. Ms. Wolf replied that there are no costs to the City. Upon motion of Mr. Whitson, seconded by Mr. Frazier, Resolution 14-03 was introduced. Upon motion of Ms. Albert, seconded by Mr. Frazier, approval of Resolution 14-03, Supporting MHCD Neighborhood Business Works Program Financing, was approved unanimously. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Chief Spaulding summarized that on October 14, 2013, the Common Council voted to allow the Police Department to implement a LPR Program for a 90-day trial period utilizing the resources of the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center (MCAC). Westminster Police Department currently has a total of 5 trained LPR operators. The LPR system was implemented on November 12, 2013. Chief Spaulding shared the details in the data received for tags that were scanned, alerts that were received, traffic stops that were made based on the alerts and the actions that were taken after the stops were made during the 90 day trial period. Chief Spaulding reminded Council that MCAC will only allow the Westminster Police Department to continue receiving real-time “hot list data” from the MCAC if the Police Department continues to share their scanned data with them as they did during the 90- day trial period. Chief Spaulding stated that he also confirmed that the Maryland State Police (MSP) can provide a significant portion of the “hot list data” on a daily basis with no conditions or restrictions as to the retention or sharing of the LPR scan data. He noted that MSP cannot provide real-time hot list updates on such items as Amber Alerts, Silver Alerts and vehicles or persons wanted for major crimes or terrorist acts which have just occurred. Chief Spaulding stated that the data presented to Mayor and Council demonstrates that the LPR is a useful and effective law enforcement tool for identifying violators living and traveling through the City of Westminster. The data also reflected that the LPR operators were using the technology judicially and in a manner consistent with their training and written LPR policy. Chief Spaulding noted the concern regarding the accuracy of the data in the various databases queried by the LPR system, and the potential for law-abiding citizens to be cited or arrested based upon inaccurate information. During the 90-day trial period the Westminster Police Department identified three instances where individuals were stopped for motor vehicle violations which were later determined to have been previously satisfied with MVA. Each of these drivers were subsequently permitted to proceed without enforcement action being taken against them. Chief Spaulding noted that the same situation arises periodically during non-LPR traffic stops. Mr. Frazier questioned how Westminster Police Department retained their information prior to having the LPR. Chief Spaulding replied through radio broadcast or e-mail depending on the location. Through MCAC this would be received automatically. Mr. Chiavacci commented that see the value of having the LPR reader on cars and is happy to know that the Westminster Police Department is able to receive information without needing to give information back to MCAC. Mr. Chiavacci agrees with keeping the LPR for Westminster Police Department use without giving data back to MCAC. Mr. Whitson agreed with Mr. Chiavacci. Dr. Wack questioned Chief Spaulding about the distinction between LPR citations and LPR must appear citations. Chief Spaulding replied that the must appear citations are for those with serious motor vehicle violations and have a criminal issue and penalty associated with them. LPR citation is what the officer issues as a result for making an LPR related stop. Dr. Wack stated that he feels the LPR is strictly to gather data for MCAC and would like to use the LPR without sharing data. Upon motion of Ms. Albert, seconded by Mr. Chiavacci, approval of Westminster Police Department continuing the use of LPR without sharing the data with MCAC and not having the data stored was approved unanimously. NEW BUSINESS Ms. Wolf shared that as a municipal representative on the Carroll 2030 Project, a draft report was presented to the Board of Commissioners on the morning of March 6, 2014. There appears to be a consensus on the Board of Commissioners to have community discussions and receive community input into a final report to be prepared by early summer. Ms. Wolf shared that nine clusters of activities were addressed, and participants who represented these clusters prepared separate reports on their activity. The activities that were addressed were Technology; Business; Education; Housing, Transportation, and Infrastructure; Health and Well Being; Municipalities; Public Safety; Arts, Culture, and Recreation; and Agriculture and Environment. Each cluster presented its vision for the future and identified top needs to be addressed to support the vision. The priorities that run throughout the clusters were identified as Technology, Infrastructure, Education, and Public Safety. Mr. Chiavacci inquired what is being asked from Council. Ms. Wolf replied that the Council is being asked to provide input as a municipality or individually. Mr. Chiavacci stated that he feels that it would be important to share input as a municipality. He noted that the City is funding a lot of things from taxes received from citizens while some of the Commissioners act as though the citizens of the City are not County taxpaying citizens too. Ms. Albert noted that tourism was not included, and she feels that it should be. Council agreed with Ms. Albert. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS Ms. Gruber reported that 600 runners have signed up to be in the Celtic Canter 5K run. Thirty (30) children have pre-registered for the kid’s run as well. She added that over twenty (20) downtown businesses are participating in the ‘pot-of-gold’ for the children. Ms. Gruber then reported that Parks and Recreation Department has received applications for summer camp counselors but are struggling to receive applications for pool staff for the upcoming summer season. Finally Ms. Gruber reported that her department has 110 vendors for the Flower and Jazz festival. Chief Spaulding reported that the red-light program will conclude its fourth year on March 15, and he will present the Council with a final report. Mr. Horn reported that the Planning Commission will receive an update on the Carroll 2030 report at their meeting Thursday evening. He also reported that he spoke to one of the property managers at the Air Business Park regarding directional signage. The property manager informed Mr. Horn that they will consider alternative ways to help clear up the signage issue. Ms. Albert thanked Mr. Horn for his assistance in addressing this issue. Ms. Wolf stated that the Mayor and Common Council received a copy of a letter sent to House Delegate Maggie Macintosh with regard to the Ethics legislation. Mr. Frank Johnson presented an overview of the legislation at the MML Chapter meeting. Mr. Johnson, who had previously served as an attorney for Carroll County Government, now works in Gaithersburg. Ms. Levan added that the Ethics Bill hearing will be held on March 11and she will attend. CITIZEN COMMENTS Mike Jordan, 710 Medinah Circle, HOA President and owner of First Response Management in the City, addressed the Mayor & Common Council. Mr. Jordan explained that he offered to donate a refurbished AED to the Carroll Arts Council in November and was requesting the Council’s assistance in resolving the matter. Ms. Wolf noted that it was her recollection that the Arts Council had turned down the offer due to the extensive training requirements. Mr. Jordan added that the proposal included free training. Mayor Utz expressed his concern that accepting the AED may be problematic if the City already has a contract for this service with another vendor. Mr. Jordan shared that he received a reply letter from Ms. Sandy Oxx of the Arts Council. The letter stated that Arts Council would defer to City because the City is the owner of the building. Council inquired if they have any say in this matter due to the fact that the Arts Council is a tenant in the building. Mr. Chiavacci questioned Mr. Jordan’s motivation. Mr. Jordan replied that he formed the business in an effort to save lives. He recalled that, as a career fire fighter in Anne Arundel County, he would respond to calls where there was no AED on site or there was one but no one knew how to use it. As a business in the City of Westminster, he has come across equipment that can be refurbished. He added that his company can repurpose this equipment for organizations that do not have the funds to purchase new AED equipment. Lyndi McNulty, 195 West Main Street, thanked Wayne Reifsnider for all of his hard work in the City. ADJOURNMENT President Wack adjourned the meeting at 8:18 PM. Respectfully Submitted, Shannon Visocsky